Chemosensory perception in the gut

The ability of the gut mucosa to sense the chemical composition of chyme is important for gastrointestinal functions. The demonstration of gustducin a nd transducin, two alpha-subunits of GTP-binding proteins involved in gusta tory signal transduction, in gastrointestinal epithelial cells provides fir st clues to the molecular basis of enteric chemosensitivity. Nitric oxide m ay play a role as a secondary messenger.